Part of Lance Armstrong's demise can be found in Dearborn

P&G file photo by Millard Berry
While near the peak of his fame as an international bicycle racer Frankie Andreu signs autographs for young fans in a west Dearborn coffee house during a visit to his home town in 1996.

DEARBORN — As a two-time Olympian and captain of the United States Postal Service team, Frankie Andreu personified the term “hometown hero” in Dearborn.

He was born there, he still trains up and down Outer Drive and he was one of the nation’s most accomplished cyclists during a competitive career that began at the 1984 Junior National Track Cycling Championships, where he finished first in individual pursuit, and ended with his retirement from the pro circuit in 2000.

Andreu finished fourth in the road race at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and competed in the Tour de France nine times, where he had four top 10 finishes in 1995 and finished a career-best 58th overall in 1998.

No matter how impressive, sporting achievements tend to fade with the passing of time.

Advertisement

But Andreu, along with his wife Betsy, will not soon be forgotten.

They may have saved a sport.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency recently released a report that exposed the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in cycling and brought down the house of Lance Armstrong, the nation’s most famous cyclist.

Armstrong had publicly denied using banned substances for years, but he was forced to admit it privately to his doctors, back in 1996, when he was in the hospital being treated for cancer.

Andreu, his friend and teammate, was in the room at the time, along with his Betsy, his fiancée.

Armstrong beat cancer and won trophies and acclaim in the years following, but continued denying the doping accusations.

Betsy would have none of it.

By 2000, she and Frankie were married and she discovered that her husband was using the steroid EPO in an effort to maintain his competitive edge.

Andreu later admitted doing so, but said he refused the more drastic techniques employed by other members of the team, a decision he said led directly to his retirement from pro racing.

In 2006, Frankie and Betsy were called to testify under oath at a civil suit between Armstrong and SCA Promotions, an underwriter which was refusing to pay a $5 million bonus for his sixth Tour de France victory because of allegations Armstrong had used banned substances in order to win.

The Andreus testified that they heard Armstrong admit to taking a list of substances: growth hormone, cortisone, EPO, steroids and testosterone to his doctors.

In the same case, Armstrong’s primary doctor submitted an affidavit that he had never seen any evidence that Armstrong admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs, and Armstrong himself denied having ever made such an admission.

A New York Times article published in 2006 stated Armstrong had testified that Betsy Andreu lied because “she hates me” and that Frankie Andreu had lied because “he’s trying to back up his old lady.”

Armstrong and his publicity machine continued the counterattack for years.

“The crux of the matter is people believed him that I was crazy and unhinged,” Betsy said in an article in The Telegraph. “Lance Armstrong is a bully. I could not let him win.”

He didn’t.

On Monday, two weeks after the USADA report showed detailed evidence of drug use and trafficking by his Tour-winning teams, the International Cycling Union stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories.

“Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling, and he deserves to be forgotten in cycling,” said Pat McQuaid, president of the governing body in a statement. “Make no mistake, it’s a catastrophe for him, and he has to face up to that.”

The Andreus have been vindicated.

“The evidence USADA has reviewed weighs strongly in favor of the conclusion that the hospital-room incident occurred along the lines recalled by Frankie and Betsy Andreu,” the USADA report said.

The sport may have been saved.

“I think this sends a pointed lesson to all the riders that the sport is changing and it’s for the better,” Frankie said in an article in Cyclingnews. “If you’ve done things that are wrong, then you’re going to get caught.

“USADA has shown some true grit by not backing down from a popular and wealthy athlete and showing that clean sport is a right for every athlete.”